A Fresh Start
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Boy meets girl, boy invites girl to travel with him, Boy find new things about girl only to discover his feeling for her and the truth behind their past. Companion to The Doctor's Girl all in the Doctor's POV. Sorry about the horrible summary. Hope you enjoy
1. Ashlee

I wandered through the store waiting for it to close down so my bomb wouldn't harm the humans who were shopping and working that day. They'd have a nasty surprise for them in the morning but they'd be safe. That night, I moved around quietly avoiding anything plastic when I heard the voice.

"Wilson?" a woman called out. I rolled my eyes and wandered towards the voice. "Wilson, I've got the lottery money. Wilson?" I heard a few knocks on a door as I moved my way towards the woman. She was going to draw all the Autons to her and get herself killed if I didn't help her. I nearly tripped over something and looked down to see a man shot. I knelt down and looked him over and sighed. "You there? Look, I can't hang about 'cause they're closing the shop. Wilson!" the woman called again and I moved away from the man and tried to find her again. Suddenly, a sound was made echoing in the corridors and I immediately ran faster towards where I thought she was. "Hello? Hello, Wilson, it's Ashlee. Hello? Wil-Wilson?" I ran into a room with Autons and stopped. I looked around and quietly moved around the room until I saw the brunette from a distance. "Wilson? Wilson?" she called again moving to another room where I could hear her trying to open one of the doors. "Is that someone mucking about?" she moved back to the room and I moved to where I could get to her easier. "Who is it?" I froze as one of the Autons stepped out into the light and toward her before moving around the outside of the room towards her as she backed away from the Auton. "Heh… you got me, very funny." The Auton said nothing and didn't stop advancing as two more joined in. "Right, I've got the joke! Who's idea was this? Was it Derek's?" the Autons and I still advanced on her as another appeared behind her. "Derek, is this you?!" All the dummies were now alive and she continued to back away from them until she tripped over a box and I tried to hurry without being seen to get to her. She had her back against the wall and the Auton raised its arm to strike her and she closed her eyes in fear when I finally got to her and grabbed her hand in mine. She snapped her eyes opened at looked at me, revealing her light gray eyes to me.

"Run." I told her and we ran away just as the Auton slammed his hand down. We ran as quickly as we could through a fire exit as the Autons pursed us. I led her into a lift and as the doors began to close one of them slammed its arm in between the doors. I quickly grabbed the arm and gave a good five hard yanks before pulling it off with a grin and the doors closed.

"You pulled his arm off!" she yelled at me.

"Yep!" I said tossing him the arm. "Plastic."

"Very clever, nice trick! Who were they then? Employees? Is this a coworker thing?" she asked me.

"Why would it be your coworkers? Did you do something to them to make them angry?" I asked turning slightly towards her getting a good look at her.

"I don't know…". She said.

"Well you said it! Why employees?" I asked again.

"Cause… to get that many people dressed up and being silly… they gotta be employees playing a trick on me. They all know I don't like it down here, so that would be a good way of getting me to laugh every time I was here." She explained and I just grinned at her.

"That makes since! Well done!" I said turning to face to door again.

"Thanks." She said.

"They're not your coworkers." I told her seriously.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's gunna call the police." She told me.

"Who's Wilson." I asked turning back to her confused.

"Chief electrician." She told me and I remembered the man I'd found earlier.

"Wilson's dead." I told her stepping out of the lift knowing she'd follow me.

"What?" She asked me.

"Hold on!" I said pushing her to the side. "Mind your eyes." I used my sonic screwdriver to make sure they couldn't follow us in the lift creating a slight spark before turning and walking away.

"Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?" she asked as she caught up with me..

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a rely device in the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." I said showing her the bomb I'd created to dismantle the disk allowing the signal to come through to the shop dummies. "So!" I opened the fire exit for her. "I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might die in the process. But don't worry about me, no. Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast." She went through the door looking back at me still holding the plastic arm. "Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed." she nodded her head as I shut the door behind me. I turned to complete what I'd come here to do before turning back and opened the door again. "I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?"

"Ashlee." She told me.

"Nice to meet you, Ashlee. Run for your life." I shut the door again and ran to the roof, dodging the autons over and over as I made my way up to the roof. I quickly attached the bomb and set it before running to the TARDIS I'd parked. I opened the doors and ran to the console and quickly moved back down to the street as the building blew up. I then set to work trying to find another signal. I found on and moved the TARDIS to the next morning and followed the signal to the Powell Estate. I looked up at the building confused before following the signal to one of the flats with a cat flap on the bottom. I bent down and pushed the cat flap in. Someone on the other side of the door pushed the cat flap towards me and I knelt down and was about to push it again when it was pushed towards me again. I saw a quick flash of light gray eyes and curly black hair before the cat flap was dropped and I jumped up as the girl from last night, Ashlee, opened the door.

"What're you doing here?" I asked her.

"I live here." She told me.

"Well, what do you do that for?" I asked.

"Because I do! And I'm only at home because someone blew up my job." She reminded me. I pulled out my sonic screwdriver and used it to try and find the signal again.

"Must've got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" I asked before knocking on her head. "No, bonehead. Bye, then!" I made to go, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside.

"You, inside. Right now." She said shutting the door behind us.

"Who is it?" a woman asked and Ashlee poked her head inside a room.

"It's about last night, he's part of the inquiry. Give us 10 minutes." she told her before walking away from us.

"She deserves compensation." Mum told me as Ashlee walked away.

"Huh, we're talking millions." I told her the older blonde woman. The father must have been brunette or Ashlee would have been blonde. Then again this woman looking nothing like that woman I'd met twice now. I leaned against the doorframe with my hands behind my back, waiting for Ashlee to come back when her mother stood up and looked at me.

"I'm in my dressing gown." She said and I looked back her.

"Yes, you are." I stated.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom." She said.

"Yes, there is." I agreed.

"Well, anything could happen." She said. I opened my mouth to say something before taking a deep breath and gave her a sarcastic smile.

"No." I said before walking away from her. That was a different experience all together.

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want a coffee?" Ashlee asked me when I walked into the living room.

"Ash who's he?" A blonde girl asked Ashlee.

"Might as well, thanks! Just milk." I smiled at Ashlee and she turned to the blonde with a small smile on her face.

"Rose could you put a pot on? Please, and close the door and window. Thanks." Rose went into the kitchen and started making coffee with a look on her face before closing the door and the window.

"So what happened last night? How did you get out?" Ashlee asked me as I picked up a gossip magazine.

"That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien." I said putting the magazine back down.

"Look, I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong." She told me. I picked up a book and flicked through it before putting it down and moving to another part of the room.

"Sad ending." I said.

"They said on the news they'd found a body, was that Wilson's?" she asked me and I picked up the piece of mail and read it.

"Ashlee Tyler." I read aloud before putting it down and looking in the mirror. "Ahh, could've been worse! Look at me' ears." I said prodding my ears.

"You act as though you've never seen yourself in a mirror." She said as the I picked up a deck of cards and shuffled them.

"Luck be a lady!" he sang giving her a grin to which she smiled at me. I shuffled the cards again and managed to make them go flying. "Maybe not."

"I want you to explain everything." She told me sitting on the arm of the chair. We suddenly heard scuffling from behind sofa.

"What's that then? You got a cat?" I asked her.

"No..." she told me. "We did have, but there's these strays, the come in off the estate." I leaned behind the sofa and the dummy's arm leaps out and grabs me by the neck. "Oh, my God." She grabbed the arm trying to pull it off me. Rose chose that time to wander in with the coffee. Behind her, I was being strangled viciously by the hand while Ashlee and I tried in vain to fight it off. Rose didn't quite seem to register that I was being harassed by the rubber hand.

"I told Mickey to chuck that out..." She said putting the coffee down on the table. "Honestly, give a man a plastic hand, I'm surprised you're playing with it, Ash... anyway, I don't even know your name... what was it?" I threw the hand off and it flew across the room attaching itself it to Ashlee's face. She screamed and Rose and I leapt up and tried to pull it off her. Rose, Ashlee and I crashed onto the coffee table, breaking it and rolled onto the floor. I finally got it off her face and pushed the two girls back onto the sofa as I pulled out my sonic screwdriver, disabling the hand.

"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see?" I said tossing the hand to Rose. "'Armless." Ashlee started giggling at my joke and I grinned at her.

"Do you think?" She asked between giggles. Rose used the arm to whack me on the shoulder.

"Ow!" I rubbed my now sore shoulder. I took the arm from her then walked out and started running down the stairs, Rose and Ashlee right behind me.

"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off." Ashlee called to me.

"Yes I can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off. See ya!" I said waving back at them.

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill my sister!" Rose yelled at me.

"Ten out of ten for observation." I told her.

"You can't just walk away, that's not fair! You've got to tell me what's going on." Ashlee said walking close to me.

"No I don't." we reached the bottom of the stairs and went through the doors.

"Alright then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone." Rose threatened.

"Rose if you do that, people could die." Ashlee told her.

"So, his choice. Tell us, or I'll start talking." Rose said and Ashlee looked at her in shock.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" I asked her.

"Sort of." Rose answered

"Doesn't work." I said walking off again.

"Who are you?" Ashlee asked as they followed me again.

"I told you! The Doctor." I told her.

"Yeah. But Doctor what?" she asked.

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

"Hello!"

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose asked me.

"Sort of."

"Come on. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?" Ashlee asked.

"No. I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home." I told her, remembering what had just happened to my home, my family.

"But what has Ash done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after her?" Rose asked me.

"Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around your sister! Ashlee was just an accident, got in the way, that's all." I told them.

"It tried to kill her!" Rose said.

"It was after me, not her! Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered in. Almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down... the only reason it fixed on you is that you met me." I told Ashlee.

"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you." Ashlee told me.

"Sort of, yeah." I said.

"You're full of it!" she told him smiling.

"Sort of, yeah." I said grinning back.

"But, all this plastic stuff - who else knows about it?" Ashlee asked.

"No one." I said.

"What, you're on your own?" She frowned at me.

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!" I said before she took the arm off me.

"Okay, start from the beginning. If you're gonna go with this living plastic how did you kill it?" She asked me.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead." I told her.

"So that's radio control?" Rose asked me and I looked from Ashlee to Rose then back.

"Thought control. Are you alright?" I looked over to the brunette worried.

"Yeah. So, who's controlling it, then?" she asked.

"Long story." I said avoiding the question all together.

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies... what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" We all laughed at Rose's comment.

"No." I laughed out.

"I know." Ashlee told me laughing.

"It's not a price war." We started laughing again but quit when I spoke again. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me."

"No." they said.

"But you're still listening." They both stopped walking which didn't stop me at all. They ran to catch me again.

"Really though, Doctor. Tell me – who are you?" Ashlee asked once more. This time, I stopped and turned to the two girls, focusing on Ashlee.

"Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" I walked back to them. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still, I can feel it." I took Ashlee's hand in mine, and felt the warmth I'd only felt with one other before. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go…" I let go of her hand and it just dropped to her side. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Ashlee and Rose Tyler." I took the arm and waved at them with it. "Go home." And with that I walked away from them towards my TARDIS. I walked inside my ship and used the arm to find where the Nestene Consciousness. I sighed and bent over the console in defeat when another signal came in. I quickly moved my TARDIS closer to the signal to find myself outside of a restaurant. I walked in and saw Ashlee and Rose with a young man sitting at a table. I used my sonic screwdriver and pointed it at them only to roll my eyes. Of course the plastic would go after the girl I met earlier. I suppose it was to be expected seeing as how Ashlee was their only link to me. I grabbed a bottle of wine and moved to the table they were sitting at.

"What're doing that for?" Rose asked the young plastic man with them.

"Your champagne." I said holding a bottle next to the man's head.

"We didn't order any champagne." He waved me off. "Where's the Doctor?" he asked Ashlee again grabbing her hand and crushing it.

"Ma'am, your champagne." Ashlee looked up at me with her mouth open but was presently surprised to see me next to her.

"It's not ours, Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?" Rose grabbed the hand the man had on Ashlee.

"I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?" he squeezed Ashlee's hand harder.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" Ashlee looked up to see me standing next to Rose holding the champagne.

"Look, we didn't order i—Ah. Gotcha." Ashlee looked at the man to him smiling at me and I saw him release her hand, which she quickly pulled off the table and held close to her chest. She looked up at me to see me shaking the bottle with a grin.

"Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!" I popped the cork out and it hit the man squarely on the forehead. His forehead absorbed the cork and he spit it back onto the table. Ashlee quickly stood up in front of me and I moved her behind him.

"Anyway." The man's hand turned into a club and he smashed the table in. Rose screamed and ran the other way pulling Ashlee with her. I grabbed the head and gave it a few good yanks before pulling it off.

"Don't think that's gonna stop me." A couple at a table close to them screamed but all I did was grin at the head.

"Everyone out! Out now!" Rose called to everyone and immediately everyone started running for the exit. The headless man stayed inside, blindly smashing table with his clubbed hand. Rose, Ashlee and I ran through the kitchen and out the back exit with the headless man right behind us. When we were safe I pointed the sonic screwdriver towards the door while Rose ran to escape the yard we were in and Ashlee stood between us staring at my TARDIS.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing, come on!" Rose called to me.

"What, this? This is a sonic screwdriver." I waved the screwdriver in my hand then put it in my pocket.

"Use it!" she commanded.

"Nah. Tell you what, let's go in here." I stopped in front of Ashlee for a moment then went and unlocked the police box. The headless man was beginning to make dents in the metal door behind us from the other side. Rose ran in front of the blue box while Ashlee followed the me in.

"We can't hid inside a wooden box! It's gonna get us! Doctor!" I heard Rose calling to us as I made my way to the console and Ashle started walking towards the middle of the room. Rose ran in not long after we did and slammed the door behind her, took a few steps toward the center then ran out.

"It's gunna follow us." Ashlee said walking up to me as he worked around the console and Rose came back in.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute." I told her. Rose stayed near the door and Ashlee stayed close to the end of the railing closest to the console area. "You see, the arm was to simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source. Right." I turned to them and gave them my full attention after I was done plugging the head into the scanner on the console. "Where do you want to start?"

"Um…the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose started.

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yup."

"Are you alien?" Ashlee asked finally speaking up from her spot.

"Yes, is that alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah," She said quickly nodding her head.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Rose started crying and she turned and walked to her, holding her close. "That's okay. Culture shock, happens to the best of us." I said, grinning.

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" Rose asked me.

"Oh… didn't think of that." I looked down confused.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head – they copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're going to just let him melt?!" she pointed at the head shouting at me.

"Melt?" I turned in time to see the head melting with a bubbling sound. "Oh, no no no no no NO!" I started running frantically around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers, doing all I could to find the Nestene Consciousness before the signal faded away completely.

"What are you doing?" Ashlee asked letting go of Rose and running up to me.

"Reviving the signal, it's fading! Wait I've got it…" I looked at a screen in front of me. "No no no no no no NO!" the TARDIS shook violently making the girls grab on to the closest stable surface and hold on. "Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!" I grinned looking at Ashlee and she smiled back. We landed and I held out my hand for her and she didn't hesitate to take it. We ran out the TARDIS without another word.

"You can't go out there, it's not safe!" Rose shouted at us, following us out. Ashlee was looking around noticing no one looked at us strangely but also looking to see where we'd gone.

"I lost the signal, I got so close." I said leaning against the railing.

"We've moved! Does it fly?" Rose asked me looking around also.

"Disappears there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand." I said waving her off.

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose." Ashlee told me.

"It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night?" I asked giving them a look.

"I'll have to tell his mother..." Rose said and I turned to give her a curious look. "Mickey! I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!" Rose lectured me but I just rolled my eyes unconcerned about Mickey. "You were right, you ARE alien." And with that said, Rose walked away.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey—" I started.

"Yeah, he's not a kid." Ashlee told me, watching Rose walk away from us.

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?" I asked her and she turned to me glaring.

"Alright?!" she yelled back at me.

"Yes! It is!" she shook her head disbelievingly at me and this argument.

"If you are an alien, then how comes you sound like you're from the North?" she asked me.

"Lots of planets have a North." I said folding my arms indignantly and looking away from her.

"What's a police public call box?" she asked me looking at the outside of my ship.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950s." I told her patting the TARDIS fondly, grinning at her. "It's a disguise." She smiled and shook her head again.

"Okay. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?" she asked me getting down to business.

"Nothing, it loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth... dinner!" I said still grinning.

"Any way of stopping it?" she asked a little worried. I pulled out a tube of blue liquid from my jacket grinning.

"Anti-plastic!" I told her.

"Anti-plastic..." she asked.

"Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" I asked looking around again.

"Hold on... hide what?" She asked following me around to the other side of TARDIS.

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal." I said looking back at her.

"What's it look like?" She asked me.

"Like a transmitter, round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London." I paced around, agitated, looking around for a clue. "A huge circular metal structure, like a dish." I stood facing her, my back to the railing of the bridge. "Like a wheel. Close to where we're standing. Must be COMPLETELY invisible." She looked at something behind me and it at it with her eyes. "What?" she nodded towards what she saw. I turned around, then back to her. "What?" she shook her head smiling, still looking at something. "What is it? What?" she didn't say a word and stared at the object behind me. I turned around and saw the London Eye behind me and turned back to her. "Oh," I turned back to it then back to her once more. "Fantastic!" And with that said we went off running. On the bridge I grabbed her hand, and Ashlee and I ran across London Bridge towards the London Eye.

When we arrived at the Eye we stopped at the bottom.

"Think of it. Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables..." I started. "Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." I said before she ran off to look.

"What about down here?" she asked me as I ran to join her.

"Looks good to me." I grinned at her and we ran down the stairs to the manhole. I took the lid off it, and a red light and smoke poured out of it. I went down first making sure it was safe. When I confirmed that it was I called out to her and she made my way down the ladder. When she was halfway down I put my hands on her waist and helped her the rest of the way down. She turned to see me staring at her, thousands of thoughts rushing through my head. I then turned and opened the door to another chamber and we went down some more steps. I pointed to a huge, orange wobbling mass in the middle of the chamber. "The Nestene Consciousness, that's it, inside the vat. A living, plastic creature." I told her as we stood by the railing.

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go." She said to me.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." We went down some more steps, closer to the Consciousness. I leaned over the railing and addressed the Consciousness directly.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract, according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." I called to it.

"Granted." He told me.

"Thank you. That I might have permission to approach." Ashlee paced behind me as the Consciousness fave me approval to approach him.

"Oh, my God! Mickey! It's okay! It's alright!" Ashlee ran to him and squatted next to him looking him over.

"That thing down there, the liquid, Ash - it can talk!" he told her.

"You're stinking! Doctor, they kept him alive!" she called out to me.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy." I said coming closer to them before standing on an edge overlooking the Consciousness.

"You knew that and you never said?" She asked him slightly angry.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" she glared at me and helped Mickey to his feet. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" I asked.

"Yes." He said.

"Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" I asked him.

"I do not have any warp shunt technology." He told me and I rolled my eyes. "It is my constitutional right to…"

"Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" I told him.

"How dare you!" he shouted at me angrily.

"I - am - talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go." I asked nicely.

"Doctor!" Ashlee called out to me as two plastic men men grabbed me. One of them took the anti-plastic out of my jacket pocket.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to USE it." I told the plastic below me

"How dare you come to me in peace before attacking me!" he called to me angrily.

"I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not..." I tried telling him only to be interrupted.

"We found something of yours." He told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him before the doors above us opened revealing the TARDIS. "Oh, oh no - honestly, no!"

"Is this your ship?" he asked me.

"Yes, that's my ship." I confirmed.

"You fled the war that destroyed everything for me!" he roared at me.

"That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war - it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" I told him.

"What's it doing?!" Ashlee asked me getting scared.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Ashlee! Just leg it! Now!" I begged her. A lightning bolt shot up from the Nestene into the ceiling. "It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!" I told them.

"The end of the world..." I heard Ashlee say.

"Get out, Ashlee! Just get out! Run!" I called to her as the ceiling fell in large bricks.

"The stairs have gone!" she told me before dragging the boy to the TARDIS and pulling on the doors trying to open her.

"We're gonna die!" the boy said looking up at the ceiling watching it crack. I looked at the anti-plastic in the plastic man's hand and struggled towards it so I could get them out, get her out. Suddenly something bumped into me and the plastic man holding me and they were knocked into Nestene shortly before the one holding the anti-plastic. I watched as Ashlee made her way back towards me and quickly grabbed her in my arms to stop her from getting past me.

"Now we're in trouble." I said grinning at her. As the Consciousness started to explode Ashlee and I ran to the TARDIS. I unlocked the door and ushered everyone inside with Ashlee trailing behind me as I made my way to the console and got us out from under the London Eye. When we landed Mickey ran backwards out of the TARDIS and fell over, looking terrified. Ashlee soon stepped out calmly and I followed leaning against the doorway to the TARDIS.

"A fat lot of good you were!" Ashlee told Mickey walking over to him and he whimpered.

"Nestene Consciousness?" I said and she turned to see me leaning on the doorway of the TARDIS as I clicked his fingers. "Easy."

"You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me." she said teasingly.

"Yes, I would." I told her. "Thank you. Right then! I'll be off! Unless, uh... I don't know... you could come with me." she looked at me and put her hands in her pockets. "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't! He's an alien! He's a thing!" Mickey said holding onto her arm.

"He's NOT invited." I told her. "What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere." I could see in her eyes that she wanted to say yes and I waited for her to answer.

"Is it always this dangerous?" she asked.

"Yeah." I nodded my head at her grinning. Mickey put his arms around one of her legs like a child begging his mother not to leave him behind.

"Yeah, I can't... I've um... gotta go and find my mum and Rose um... someone's gotta look after this stupid lump... make sure he doesn't do anything with my sister…" she said laughing falsely and patted Mickey on the back. "So..."

"Okay. See you around." I told her watching her open her mouth to stop me from leaving her here. Eventually I backed away slowly and closed the door and walked to the console and moved the TARDIS somewhere else. I stood next to the console and sat in the vortex for a few hours before grinning and going back to where I left her and Mickey. I ran to the doors and popped my head out of them. "By the way - did I mention, it also travels in time?" I grinned and went back in leaving the door ajar. I walked to the console and watched her on the monitor as she turned to Mickey.

"Tell Rose, thanks." she told him

"Thanks for what?" he asked her.

"She'll know." She ran into the TARDIS with a broad smile on her face making my grin widen.

* * *

><p><em>Next time:<em>

"This is the year 5 billion. This is the day... hold on." I looked down at my watch.

The Sun expanded. "Welcome to the end of the world." She looked up at me.

"Who the hell are you?" We turned to see a blue man talking to us.

"Oh, I'm the Doctor, this is Ashlee Tyler. She's my plus one. That all right?" I asked the man.

"Representing the forest of Cheem, we have Trees. The Moxx of Balhoon. The Face of Bo. The Last Human, the Lady Cassandra O'Brien."

"Oh, now, don't stare. Look how thin I am." Cassandra told everyone, I grinned at Ashlee as she stared at everyone she was introduced to.

The ship shuddered.

"That's not supposed to happen..." I told her grinning.


	2. The End of the World

Last Time on Doctor Who:

"I'm the Doctor, what's your name?"

"Ashlee."

"Nice to meet you, Ashlee. Run for your life."

"I want you to explain everything." Ashlee told me sitting on the arm of the chair.

"There's a war going on! They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?" I asked them.

"No." they said.

"But you're still listening." I walked away.

"Really though, Doctor. Tell me – who are you?" Ashlee asked once more. This time, I stopped and turned to them.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

"It's alien."

"Yup."

"Are you alien?" Ashlee finally spoke up from her spot.

"Yes, is that alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said quickly nodding her head.

"I've got no A Levels. No job... No future."

"You could come with me." She looked at me and put her hands in her pockets.

She swung across the gap over the Consciousness kicking the plastic men holding me into the Nestene, anti-plastic and all.

"This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Is it always this dangerous?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I can't."

"Did I mention, it travels in time?" I grinned and went back in leaving the door ajar. I walked to the console and watched her on the monitor as she turned to Mickey.

"Tell Rose, thanks." she told him

"Thanks for what?" he asked her.

"She'll know." She ran into the TARDIS with a broad smile on her face making my grin widen.

* * *

><p>"Right then, Ashlee Tyler - you tell me, where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. What's it going to be?" I said grinned at her.<p>

"Forwards." She told him and I pressed a few buttons.

"How far?" I asked her, seeing the excitement on her face.

"One hundred years." She said. I pulled a lever and turned a knob. The engines lurched then stopped after a few seconds.

"There you go, step outside those doors, it's the twenty-second century." I said to her, grinning.

"You're kidding."

"That's a bit boring though, do you want to go further?" I asked, but I knew her answer.

"Fine by me!" she challenged him. I started the engines up again and when we stopped, I looked at her.

"Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the New Roman Empire."

"You think you're so impressive." She said teasingly to me.

"I AM so impressive!" I told her.

"You wish!" she challenged once again.

"Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go." I reved up the engine and pumped a lever furiously. "Hold on!" I told her. The TARDIS hurtled us forward. When it stopped it made a small pinging noise.

"Where are we?" she asked excitedly. I just gestured toward the doors. "What's out there?" she asked, her smile growing larger. I just gestured again and she stepped outside. I followed her out of the TARDIS and found us in a wooden room. With my sonic screwdriver I opened the shutters of an enormous window. We went down the stairs and find ourselves looking down on the planet Earth.

"You lot. You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This is the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... hold on..." I looked at my watch. "This is the day the sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." I grinned at her as she stared in awe at the view.

"Shuttles 5 and 6 now docking. Guests are reminded that platform 1 forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite." a computer said over the intercom as Ashlee and I were walking down a corridor.

"So, when it says 'guests' does that mean people?" she asked me.

"Depends what you mean by people." I told her.

"I mean people. What do you mean?"

"Aliens."

"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?" she asked looking around as I started to open a door with my sonic screwdriver.

"It's not really a spaceship. More like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn." I told her, grinning again.

"What for? Why would someone want to watch something so beautiful burn?" she asked me, voicing her thoughts.

"Fun." I said as we entered a large observation gallery. "Mind you, when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich."

"But, hold on, they did this once on 'Newsround Extra' - the sun expanding - that takes hundreds of years." she told me looking at her home.

"Millions. But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" I pointed out of the window at tiny glints of light orbiting the Earth. "Gravity satellite. That's holding back the sun." I explained to her.

"The planet looks the same as ever. I thought the continents shifted and things." She said looking back at me.

"They did. And the trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over!"

"How long has it got?" she asked and I looked down at my watch.

"About half an hour. And the planet gets roasted." I said and my grin never left my face.

"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?" she asked looking back outside.

"I'm not saving it. Time's up." I said looking down at her as she looked up at me.

"But what about all the people?" she asked me.

"It's empty! They're all gone. All left." she looked back to the window as what I said sunk in.

"Just me then." she said.

"Who the hell are you?" a voice called out as I was about to say something to her. I turned to see a man walking up to us.

"Oh! That's nice, thanks." I said grinning at him.

"But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on their way any second now!" He said starting to worry.

"That's me, I'm a guest, look! I've got an invitation!" I flashed my psychic paper at him wanting him to see an invitation. "Look, there you see? It's fine, see? The Doctor plus one. I'm the Doctor, this is Ashlee Tyler. She's my plus one. That all right?" I asked him.

"Well... obviously." He said and I grinned at him. "Apologies, et cetera. If you're on-board, we'd better start. Enjoy." I nodded to him as he walked off before turning to Ashlee and showing her the paper.

"The paper's slightly psychic. Shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time." I explained putting it away.

"He's blue." She said still staring at the mans back.

"Yeah." I said as she turned to look at me.

"Okay." She said nodding her head. The blue man was now standing behind a podium speaking through a microphone at the other end of the suite.

"We have in attendance, the Doctor and Ashlee Tyler. Thank you! All staff to their positions." he clapped his hands and a lot of little blue people started scurrying around. "Hurry now! Thank you, as quick as we can! Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest, representing the forest of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa." The three walked through the doors. "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you can keep the room circulating, thank-you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balhoon. And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." I turned and looked at Ashlee as she stared in wonder at the people coming into the room and I chuckled at her. "The inventors of hyposlip travel systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you! Cal 'Spark Plug'. Mr. and Mrs. Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light." After every name a new alien entered the room. The trees walked over to us.

"The Gift of Peace." she took a cutting and handed it to me. "I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather."

"Thank you!" I said giving it to Ashlee. "Yes, gifts... erm..." I cleared my throat and started feeling my jacket for something to give them as a gift. "I give you in return, air from my lungs." I blew gently onto Jabe's face, who closed her eyes breifly.

"How... intimate." She said once she opened her eyes.

"There's more where that came from." I told her flirtatiously.

"I bet there is..." she said and I just grinned at her before she left.

"Sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Bo." A huge head in an equlally huge jar was wheeled through the doors when the Moxx of Baljoon approched us.

"The Moxx of Balhoon." I greeted.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily saliva." He spit at Ashlee and hit her face while I just laughed.

"Thank you very much." I said as she rubbed the spit off of her. Next, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme approched us.

"Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." I breathed heavily over all of them.

"A gift of peace in all good faith." was all the first one said as he held out a large silver egg, which the I took, threw up into the air, caught, and handed it to Ashlee.

"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and Gentlemen, and Trees and Multiforms. Consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth The Last Human." When the doors opened looked like a vertical trampoline made of human skin being wheeled in. It had eyes and a mouth and wore lipstick. "The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

"Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference! Look how thin I am." Cassandra told everyone. "Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturize me, moisturize me." One of the two men in a white body suit who wheeled her in sprayed her down with a canister. "Truly, I am The Last Human." I watched as Ashlee crept forward for a good look at her. "My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in the soil. I have come to honour them and..." she sniffled a little. "...say goodbye. Oh, no tears." the man in white wipped her eyes. "No tears. I'm sorry. But behold! I bring gifts. From Earth itself - the last remaining ostrich egg." One of the staff came in and displayed the egg to the room. "Legend says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and blew fire from its nostrils." I smiled at her misinformation and at Ashlee's confused face as Cassandra continued to talk. "Or was that my third husband? Who knows! Oh don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines!" she laughed and mumbled to herself for a few seconds before continuing. Behind her, a large jukebox was wheeled into the room. "And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" One of the staff pressed a button and the jukebox started playing Tainted Love by Soft Cell. I bopped around to the beat of the music as everyone listened in wonder to the music.

"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in 30 minutes." I watched as Ashlee left the gallery running the other way and quickly made to follow her growing concerned for the young woman.

"Doctor?" I turned to see Jabe holding something before snapping a picture. "Thank you." I didn't have time to ponder what had just happened before I went off to find Ashlee.

* * *

><p>"Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 please report to the steward's office immediately. Guests are reminded that use of <em>all <em>teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty 5.4/cup/16. Thank you." I heard the stewerd say over the loudspeaker and I went to his office to deal with him before looking for the human girl who ran off. After talking with the stewerd I stepped into a corridor and watched as my TARDIS was being dragged away by some of the smaller blue staff.

"Oi, now, careful with that. Park it properly. No scratches." I called after them. One of them walked up to me.

"Here you go sir." He said handing me a card and walking away again. I held the card up and read it. 'Have a nice day.' I looked at the retreating staff's back as if he was completely off his rocker before going to look for Ashlee. I walked up to one of the many doors and knocked on it.

"Ashlee? Are you in there?" I asked before opening the door and going inside. "Aye aye!" I sat on the other side of the stairs from her. "What do you think, then?" I asked her.

"Great! Yeah... fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper..." We laughed before pausing for a bit. "They're just, so alien." I looked at her questioningly. "The aliens. Are so alien. You look at 'em... and they're alien." She tried explaining to me and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South." I told her and she laughed at the joke.

"Where are you from?" she asked curiously.

"All over the place." I told her and she just gave me a look.

"They all speak English." She commented.

"No - you just hear English. It's a gift of the TARDIS. Telepathic field, gets inside your brain - translates." I said with a grin leaning back on the ground.

"Who are you then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?" I simply sat up and looked away from her at the questions she fired off.

"I'm just The Doctor."

"From what planet?"

"Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!"

"Where are you from?!"

"What does it matter?"

"Tell me who you are!"

"This is who I am, right here, right now, alright? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!"

"Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me!" I got up and walked down the steps away from her.

"Earth Death in 20 minutes. Earth Death in 20 minutes." The computer announced. After a few quiet moments, I heard her get up and walk down the steps towards the Doctor.

"My mum once told me, it's not where you're from the defines you but what you do with the time given. I think she stole that from a movie." She laughed and I smiled at her words as she got her mobile out. "Can't exactly call for a taxi... there's no signal. We're out of range. Just a bit!" she said laughing again.

"Tell you what..." I took her phone from her. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery..." I took off the back of my phone.

"Is that a technical term, 'jiggery pokery'?" she asked me, flirting a bit.

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery, what about you?"

"Nah, I failed hullabaloo." She told me.

"Oooh." I fit a new battery into the phone then handed it back to her. "There you go." She took it back and looked at me uncertainly. I nodded at her as she got her mum's number onto the screen and puts the phone to her ear as it rang.

"Mum?" she asked looking at me in shock. She listened to her mum talk for a moment before laughing. "Nothing! You all right, though? How's Rose?" she asked. "I'm out with a friend. What day is it?" she listened to the reply before laughing again. "Yeah, um, I was just calling 'cause I might be late home." She told her. "No! I'm fine! Top of the world!" she said looking out at the view and me as I laughed quietly. "Mum, really?" she lowered her mobile and hung up on her mum, stunned.

"Think that's amazing, you want to see the bill." I told her.

"That was 5 billion years ago. So... they're dead now. Five billion years later, my mum and sister are dead." She said slowly to herself.

"Bundle of laughs, you are." Right after I spoke the ship shuddered. She started to fall but I caught her and held her in my arms. "That's not supposed to happen..." I told her grinning.

* * *

><p>As we walked into the suite I over heard the Mox of Ballhon talking to the Face of Bo.<p>

"...this is the Bad Wolf scenario..."

"That wasn't a gravity pocket. I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." I told her as I fiddled with a control panel next to the door. "What do you think, Jabe? Listened to the engines - they pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?" I asked the woman as she walked up to us.

"It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me." She told me.

"Where's the engine room?" I asked her.

"I don't know... but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest's suite, I could show you. And your wife." She gestured to Ashlee next to me and I shook my head.

"She's not my wife." I told her.

"Partner?"

"No."

"Concubine?"

"Nope." Jabe looked at her.

"Prostitute?"

"Whatever I am, it must be invisible, do you mind? Tell you what, you two go and pollinate, I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson." Ashlee told me as she walked towards Cassandra.

"Don't start a fight." I said offering my arm to Jabe. "I'm all yours."

"And I want you home by midnight!" She said watching us go and I just grinned at her.

* * *

><p>"Earth Death in 15 minutes. Earth Death in 15 minutes." The computer announced as we entered the maintenance duct.<p>

"Who's in charge of Platform One? Is there a captain or what?" I asked Jabe.

**"**There's just the steward and the staff. All the rest is controlled by the metal man." She told me.

**"**You mean the computer? But who controls that?" I asked looking back at her.

**"**The Corporation. They move Platform One from one artistic event to another." She said and I was silent for a moment.

"But there's no one from the corporation on board." I said making sure I was understanding her correctly.

**"**They're not needed. This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the alpha class. Nothing can go wrong." She told me.

**"**Unsinkable?" I asked.

**"**If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate." She said.

**"**You're telling me. I was on board another ship once. They said that was unsinkable... I ended up clinging to an iceberg, it wasn't half cold." I said before we stopped walking for a minute. "So, what you're saying is, if we get in trouble there's no one to help us out?"

**"**I'm afraid not." She told me with a grown on her face.

**"**Fantastic." I said grinning before we continued moving.

"I don't understand. In what way is THAT fantastic?" She asked me as we made our way down the corridor.

"Just means this little trip might be more interesting is all." I told her, my mind flashing to the brunette I'd brought with me. As we walked we reached a point where there was a low ceiling forcing us to stoop slightly. "So, tell me, Jabe. What's a tree like you doing in a place like this?"

**"**Respect for the Earth." She said.

**"**Oh, come on. Everyone on this platform's worth zillions." I said not beliving her answer.

**"**Well... perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions." She corrected.

**"**In case your share prices drop? I know you lot. You've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere, and there's always money in land." I said.

**"**All the same. You respect the Earth as family. So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below. And I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest." She said proudly. I looked at her impressed before seeing a control panel.

"Excuse me." I took out my sonic screwdriver and started poking the screen with it.

**"**And what about your ancestry, Doctor? Perhaps you could tell a story or two... perhaps a man only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left..." she said and I didn't answer. I scanned you earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species - refused to admit your existence. And even when it named you, I wouldn't believe it. But it was right." I stopped scanning the panel add memories flooded in. All the people I couldn't save and the one I'll never see again. "I know where you're from. Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist. I just want to say... how sorry I am." Jabe put a comforting hand on my arm. He placed my hand over hers, a a tear fell down my cheek. I quickly finished the scan and we went through a doorinto a ventillation chamber. There were huge fans circulating the air fir the entire platform.

**"**Is it me, or is it a bit nippy?" I asked her sarcastically.** "**Fair do's, though, that's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of, nice and old fashioned. Bet they call it 'retro'." I scanned another control panel with my sonic screwdriver until I could take it off. "Gotcha." The panel fell off and a metal spider scuttled out and scurried across the floor and up the wall as we watched. "What the hell's that?"

**"**Is it part of the 'retro'?" She asked me.

**"**I don't think so. Hold on." I told her before I pointed my screwdriver at the spider. However, Jabe fired her liana up at the spider, disabling it and it came falling into my hand. "Hey! Nice liana!"

**"**Thank you! We're not supposed to show them in public." She told him.

**"**Don't worry, I won't tell anybody." I told her before turning my attention to the spider. "Now then. Who's been bringing the pets on board?"

**"**What does it do?" She asked me.

**"**Sabotage." I told her.

**"**Earth Death in 10 minutes."

**"**And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on." I said and we hurried down the chamber back the way we came. We hurried along the corridor to find it filled with tge staff and smoke. "Come on! Get back!" I moved my sonic screwdriver over the control panel.

**"**Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising."

**"**Was the Steward in there?!" Jabe asked concerned.

**"**You can smell him. Hold on - there's another sun filter program to descend." I said before running towards the doomed room and guest. "Anyone in there?" I called towards the door.

"Let me out!" I heard Ashlee say from the other side and rolled my eyes.

"Oh, well, it would be you." I said.

"Open the door!" She told m.

"Hold on! Give us two ticks!" I told he.

"Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending." The computer told us. "Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising." the computer announced and I grinned at my handy work. "Sunfilter rising... Sunfilter descending."

"This is just what we need. The computer's getting clever." I said.

"Will you stop mucking about!" She commanded me.

"I'm not mucking about, it's fighting back!"

"Open the door!"

"Hang on!" I told her.

"Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising. Earth Death in 5 minutes." I opened the door and hugged her tightly.

"Hey you, trying to tan?" I asked her with a grin.

"Nah, I heard pale is in." She told me smiling.

* * *

><p>Ashlee and I walked into the suite as Jabe was talking to everyone, announcing what we had learned.<p>

"The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of platform one." Jabe told everyone.

"How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturize me, moisturize me." Cassandra told her boys in white as I took the metal spider out of Jabe's hand.

"Summon the Steward!" The Moxx of Ballhon said.

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe told him. Everyone gasped in shock at this discovery.

"Who killed him?" he commanded.

"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Bo! He invited us! Talk to the face! Talk to the face!" Cassandra shouted loudly.

"Easy way of finding out. Someone bought a little pet on board." I said showing everyone the spider. "Let's send him back to Master." I placed the spider down on the floor and it scuttled along to Cassandra and looked up at her. She looked shifty for a moment, but the spider moved on to the feet of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.

"They're the one's who knocked me out and put me in that room." Ashlee told the m silently amd a flash of anger passed through me for a brief instant before disappearing.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra commanded.

"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious, but if you stop and think about it..." the one in front tried to strike me but i caught it and ripped his arm off. "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are. An idea." I ripped out a wire from the arm and all the Adherents of the Repeated Meme crumpled on the floor. "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo!" I nudged the spider with my foot. "Go home!" the spider ambled back to Cassandra.

"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!" the two bodyguards with canisters on either side of her raised their canisters.

"What are you going to do, moisturize me?" I mocked her stepping back slightly.

"With acid. Oh, too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just as pretty face." Cassandra told me.

"Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid's that?" I told her.

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous." Cassandra revealed to me.

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money." Ashlee said sounding surprised.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune. I am The Last Human, child. Me. Not you." Cassandra told her.

"Arrest her!" The Moxx of Ballhon commanded.

"Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option." Cassandra told us.

"Earth Death in 3 minutes." the computer announced.

"And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? "Burn, baby, burn."" Cassandra told us.

"Then you'll burn with us." Jabe told her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders - activate." There were a series of explosions around the ship. "Force fields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me. Buh-bye, darlings! Buh-bye, my darlings." she and her bodyguards teleported out.

"Heat levels rising."

"Reset the computer!" The Mox of Ballhon suggested.

"Only the Steward would know how." Jabe reminded him.

"No. We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Ash, come on." we left the room heading for the maintenance corridor.

"Earth Death in 2 minutes. Earth Death in 2 minutes."

"Heat levels - critical. Heat levels - critical."

* * *

><p>Ashlee and I reached the ventilation chamber.<p>

"Oh. And guess where the switch is." I said looking on the other side of the three large fans.

"Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising." I pulled a lever down and the fans slowed.

"External temperature - 5 thousand degrees." As soon as I let go of the lever, the fans sped up again. I heard the lever be pulled down again and turned to see it being held down by Ash

"You can't. The heat's going to vent through this place." I told her.

"I know." she told me, sweat already running down her face.

"You'll burn."

"Then time it perfect." We grinned at each other and I ran back to the fans.

"Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - hazardous." I dodged the first fan and ran underneath. When I got to the second one I looked up at it. How was I going to get passed all these fans in time?

"Shields malfunctioning. Shields malfunctioning." I looked back at Ash and saw her sweating and breathing heavily. "Heat levels - critical. Heat levels - critical." I turned back to the fan and dodged under the second fan. "Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising. Planet explodes in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4..." I dodged the third fan and ran to the switch, pulling it up.

"Raise shields!" I told the computer.

"...1" I ran back to Ashlee and saw her looking down at her hands. I grabbed her hands gently and saw them terribly burned.

"I can help them heal but I don't know if I can stop the scaring. I'm sorry." I told her and she smiled at me.

"I knew what that might do, I'm fine."

* * *

><p>We made our way back to the suite and I was seething. If Cassandra hadn't been so concerned about money and brought her little spiders on board no one would have died and Ashlee wouldn't have been burned. We would have enjoyed a nice event together and nothing more.<p>

"You all right?" Ashlee asked as we entered the suite.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm full of ideas, I'm bristling with them. Idea number one - teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two - this feed must be hidden nearby." I walked over to the ostrich egg and broke it open. The teleportation feed fell out and I picked it up. "Idea number three - if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed." I reversed the feed and Cassandra appeared before us in the middle of her gloating.

"Ah, you should have seen their little alien faces." She looked around. "Oh."

"The Last Human."

"So. You passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join the er... the human club." she said flustered at the thought of what could happen.

"People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them." I told her.

"That depends on your definition of 'people'. And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then, Doctor! And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter..."

"And creak?" I asked interrupting her.

"And what?" she asked me.

"Creak! You're creaking." I told her as her to see her skin tightened. Her eyes became bloodshot and she was getting whiter and whiter.

"What? Ah! Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturize me! Moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" she panicked, covered in red blotches.

"You raised the temperature." I reminded her.

"Have pity! Moisturize me! Oh, Doctor!" she begged.

"Everything has its time and everything dies." Ash told her from behind me.

"I'm... too... young!" She exploded as we watched. We left the room after that, no one had wanted to be in the same room as someone who'd just died.

"Doctor." I turned and walked up to the Face of Bo as Ashlee walked to the Manchester Suite. "How is she?" he asked me.

"She'll be okay. She's a strong woman." I told him and he chuckled.

"Yes she is. Take care of her Doctor." He said before leaving. I watched him leave confused before turning to go back to her. I walked into the suite and saw her watch the Earth burn with a very vulnerable and sad look on her face. I walked up to her and watched the rocks spread out in space.

"The end of the Earth. It's gone. And we were too busy saving ourselves, no one saw it go. All those years... all that history and no one was even looking. It's just..." I turned to her and saw her eyes with unshed tears. I offered my hand to her and she just looked at me.

"Come with me." she took my hand and we walked to the TARDIS together. When I'd flown us to our destination she opened the doors and looked around at the crowds walking past us. "You think it'll last forever. People, and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky." I told her. "My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust. Before its time."

"What happened?" she asked me.

"There was a war. And we lost."

"A war with who?" she asked me but I didn't answer her. "What about your people?"

"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own because there's no one else."

"There's me..." she said softly. I looked down at her and her smile.

"You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?" I asked her. She turned from me to the people walking by us.

"I don't know. I want…Oh! Can you smell chips?" she asked looking back at me, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah. Yeah!" I laughed at her.

"I want chips." she told him and I knew that I wasn't going to be alone again.

"Me too." I said smiling at her.

"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay." she said hitting my chest lightly.

"No money." I told her, grin still on my face.

"What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me." For no reason at all, I happier than I had in a long time. "We've only got five billion years before the shops close..." We walked down the street together talking and laughing as I held her hand and she laid her head on my shoulder.

* * *

><p>Next time on Doctor Who:<p>

"Now, you've seen the future - let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?" I asked her.

"What happened in 1860?" she asked.

"I don't know. Let's find out." I pulled a lever down. We heard screaming. We looked at each other and I grinned.

"That's more like it!" I tossed the newspaper over my shoulder. A blue mist zoom around.

Who's your friend?" she asked looking at Charles behind me.

"Charles Dickens."


End file.
